İstanbul University History of Turkish Pharmacy Specialization Museum
The foundation of Turkey’s first Pharmacy History Museum was laid in 1960 with a personal collection by Prof. Dr. Turhan Baytop. In 1962, Hayrullah Örs, the Director of the Topkapi Palace Museum, donated some items from the Hekimbaşı room to the university to enrich the pharmacy collection. The collection was further enhanced by donations from pharmacists and physicians.
After the 1999 Istanbul earthquake damaged the Faculty of Pharmacy’s historical building – Keçecizade Fuat Paşa Mansion – the collection was safeguarded by Prof. Dr. Afife Mat in the archive building. Following the building’s restoration completion in 2010, two halls on the first floor next to the dean’s office were allocated for the collection in 2011.
Aiming to preserve and pass on the resources illuminating the history of pharmacies, pharmacy education, and the pharmaceutical industry in Turkey, the museum was registered as a “Specialty Museum” in 2017, following collaborations with MÜZEYUM started in 2016. After necessary arrangements, the museum opened to visitors on February 28, 2018.
Museum Collection:
The museum displays items from the Topkapi Palace Museum Enderun Pharmacy, including a cabinet for potent poisons, a cabinet for separately stored medicines, porcelain medicine jars, glass medicine bottles, and drug boxes. It also features cabinets from two Ottoman-era pharmacies, Pasteur Pharmacy and İstikamet Pharmacy, along with various pharmacy porcelain medicine jars, prodüi bottles, materials used in medicine preparation, and prescription record books, providing insights into the development of pharmacies in Turkey.
The collection includes diplomas from different periods of pharmacy education starting in 1839, diploma registration books, graduates’ photos, and signs. It houses numerous pharmacy and medical books in Ottoman, Turkish, English, French, German, and Italian, with the oldest being Nicolas Leméry’s “Pharmacopée Universelle,” dating back to 1734.
The museum also traces the history of the pharmaceutical industry in Turkey, showcasing over 1500 domestic and foreign pharmaceutical preparations, organized by companies.
Website: Turkish Pharmacy History Specialty Museum
Address: Istanbul University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Block A, 1st floor, Beyazıt/Istanbul
Phone: +90 (212) 440 00 00/13400
Email: [email protected]
Visiting Information:
- Open Days: Weekdays from 09:00 to 16:30. Visits require an appointment from the Faculty of Pharmacy.
- Closed Days: Closed on weekends and public holidays.
- Entrance Fee: Free
- Who Can Visit: Open to all.
- Transportation: Accessible via Bağcılar-Kabataş tram, Yenikapı-Hacıosman metro, and municipal buses towards Beyazıt. Tram and bus users can get off at Laleli stop (next to Istanbul University Faculty of Literature). Metro users can get off at Vezneciler metro station.
Responsible Unit: Istanbul University, Faculty of Pharmacy
